Hook-up of Two Subs??? Suggestions please.

[J. Gary]

My speaker set-up is as follows:

2 front/mains w/2 subs

1 center

2 rears

As you can see, I have two subwoofers in my system. Currently, I have them wired in conjunction with my two mains so that I have "stereo" subs. Basically, I "unload" the mains by using crossovers to take the lows and send them to the subs while sending the balance of the signal to the mains. I have placed the subs so that I have one on each side of the listening room (along with the fronts/mains) in such a way as the mains and subs play together for a kick-*** sound. While this is great for music and stereo listening I am not so sure that this is best set-up for home theater. This is because I am not using the ".1" channel that my ACT-3 provides for HT/surround. I have been told that in absence of using the .1 channel that the ACT-3 will automatically send this signal information to the front/mains...is this true? If so, then maybe I am wired correctly, if not, maybe I should rethink how my system is configured. I would appreciate any thoughts/comments that anyone can provide on this issue. Thanks.

Gary

[JohnA]

You are correct on the way the ACT-3 works and your subwoofer placement. I assume you are using the crossovers in the subs to divide the signal between the subs and mains. Per Dolby Spec, the LFE channel has no extra information, so you are not losing anything in DD 5.1 mode. However, I believe the LFE channel in dts is a seperate track and you may be losing it with no sub. With the Bass Management Upgrade to the ACT-3, you can drive the subs from the LFE outputs and accomplish the same thing you have now, plus get control of the sub level from the remote and be assured of getting the LFE from dts.

[J. Gary]

Thanks John! I appreciate your quick response. It sounds like I am OK with respect to DD 5.1 but I had not considered the dts impact of what I am doing. I am more than likely going to purchase the ACT-3 upgrade (if and when it finally becomes available) so I will take your advice about driving the subs from the LFE outputs...it sounds like a great idea...and I really like the idea of then being able to get control of the sub level from the remote!

Gary

[E3T]

LFE comes w/ Dolby Digtal (not to be mistaken for Dolby Surround), DTS, and all the upper grade surround formats. LFE is only turned on during special effect situations. When not using the LFE, yes, lows are sent to the mains. However, when sending Main information to a sub and then to your Main speakers, the subs will acquire most of your standard low information also eliminating the full response of your Main speakers. It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your subs. They can be run in tandem from the LFE output to give you extra lows during the 5.1/6.1/7.1 formats.

[Dale W]

I've play'ed around with every configuration of wiring the subs and found the LFE to be the best application for myself.Depending on the set up menu of your procesor, as in my case two channel stereo will feed LFE to the subs.This is not an automatic feature on alot of procesors you have to go into the programing menu and turn on the LFE for each imput source. I don't know what your using as a source feed so check your manual if your running a digital procesor.My system is THX,DD and DTS. The dts tracks are the most active as far as rear information and sub sound.

[boa12]

J., the act i think is not any dif from most other configs, in that if you tell it you have no sub connected to the lfe/sub out, it sends any LFE channel (.1) material out of its fronts terminals along w/ the front channel info. & it does this whether dolby or dts, as w/ either the LFE channel is the discrete .1 channel in 5.1 material.

it sounds like you have the subs connected to the fronts terminals along w/ the main speakers. iow, the fronts not connected to the speaker out treminals on the subs themselves. but either way your crossover controls either in your act or on the subs aren't directly effecting the trade-off between the front speaker & subs.

if you have the subs connected in parallel to the front speakers by way of the act front terminals, your front speakers are still getting full range. the crossover on your sub controls only where the sub is cut - a low pass crossover - no direct effect on the signal the fronts are getting but definitely an effect on what you hear. but maybe you're using crossover controls external to both the act & the subs (???).

that's moot anyway because you should get the best results connecting both subs to the sub/lfe out jack of the act. any LFE should be much more dynamic that way, & you can use the bass mgmt in the act to then relieve the front speaks of the extra burden of carrying both LFE and low bass in the front channels.

you may also want to try putting both subs together in the same place, like stacking them or right next to each other in or near the same corner.